She Hates The Spotlight
by Cerulean Leader
Summary: What would you do if you were stuck in a dimension that wasn't yours with a certain celebrity hedgehog falling in love with you? Sonic x Blaze, maybe Tails x Cream and Knuckles x Rouge. - ON HOLD, NOT CANCELLED.
1. Prologue: A Different Dimension

**She Hates the Spotlight: Prologue - by Cerulean Leader**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

**Couple: Sonic the Hedgehog x Blaze the Cat (Sonaze).**

**Summary: What would you do if you were stuck in a dimension that wasn't yours with a certain celebrity hedgehog falling in love with you?**

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><p><strong>Prologue: A Different Dimension<strong>

"Eggman, come back here!" an angry voice yelled. A purple figure could be seen with fireballs lit in the palm of her hands as she ran forward gracefully after a mechanical, levitating craft. In the craft was an egg-shaped man clad in black with a large, brown moustache as he cackled in response to the girl.

"Think again, Blaze, dearest! The Sol Emeralds are mine!"

The lilac cat growled angrily and leapt up towards the man's aircraft and let out a battle cry. "Eggman Nega, give them back now!" she yelled, spinning into a swipe kick as fire surrounded her feline body.

A crashing sound was heard as her white and purple boot made contact with the metal, as bolts and other pieces in order to have put the craft together flew out and into the open air. Eggman Nega struggled to regain his balance as his craft started smoking, so he floated away back to his main airship. "I'll come back for them, Your Highness!"

Blaze cringed at the title he used, dropping down to the soft soil and grabbing the different coloured emeralds into her arms. Sighing, she slowly walked back towards the palace, a soft glow slowly appeared, a gentle rainbow of colours reflecting off her white gloves.

When she finally got back to the castle, she was greeted by the guards who bowed their heads respectively, while she nodded in response. Walking through the halls, she didn't notice the glowing of the emeralds still, instead choosing to just stare ahead as she navigated her way to the room she was looking for. When she finally got there, she moved past all the high security and placed the emeralds in the respective, black holders, light emitting from the flaming staffs which were hung on the ancient brick.

Finally taking notice of the glowing, she stepped forward curiously, and squinting in concentration as the rainbow of light got stronger, shining against her own golden eyes.

"What's going on?" she whispered to herself, touching a blue coloured emerald gently. "The Sol—"

She never got to finish her sentence, cutting herself off before she blinded by a bright, white light. She shrieked loudly, alerting the guards and other occupants of the castle, including her good friend Silver who shouted her name as he tried to grab her hand.

"Blaze, hang on!"

A gust of wind surrounded the purple feline, lifting her form above the ground as her fur and jacket was flying all over the place. Silver's eyes widened, hands immediately glowing an aqua colour while an aura of the same colour surrounded her, attempting to pull the princess of Soleanna back to the guards.

"Hurry, Master Silver!" the captain of the guards, Captain Wentworth exclaimed worriedly, glancing at the ruler of his homeland. Wentworth was a tired looking lion, main all fuzzy and blowing around wildly from the wind as Silver tried to stand his ground instead of being pulled in with her, his quills swaying as well.

"I'm trying!"

Soon enough, a wisp and a popping sound was heard, revealing a large circle with purples, oranges and yellows swirling about inside it in a complicated pattern. Everyone in the room was panicking now as Silver concentrated harder to pull his friend back.

It didn't help.

"Take care of the kingdom until I get back!" Blaze shouted, being sucked in by the vortex. "And guard the Sol Emeralds!"

Silver's eyes were swimming with panic and concern, but nodded in promise anyway. "I will, I promise!"

She smiled gently, motioning for Silver to let go of his concentration. "I'll be okay!"

The guards and Captain Wentworth were all protesting against the courageous cat's decision, but Blaze knew that Silver wouldn't be able to hold her there much longer.

"I'll be fine! Be safe!"

With her last words, she was sucked into the portal before another popping sound was heard, letting the occupants of the room know that the vortex had closed. Silver collapsed onto the hard ground, pounding his fist onto the brick. "Dammit!"

"Your highness!" Wentworth yelled, running forward and banging against the wall as the guards tried to calm him down.

"She'll be fine, sir!"

Silver stood up, looking at them determinedly as he tried to catch his breath. "She'll be fine, she's strong enough."

In a burst of colour, Blaze was tumbling through the vortex which was seemingly like a long tunnel, gasping at how the different shades mixed together. She was a little frightened, but a ruler like herself had to stay strong.

"Calm down, Blaze…" she told herself reassuringly, trying to calm herself down.

After a few moments, Blaze's body met with hard ground, letting out an 'oof' as she landed. Feeling the sun on her back, she turned around to face the blue sky, lifting up her left arm to shield the sun away from her eyes.

Groaning, she stood up and looked around what looked like a village. The place looked deserted, as it looked pretty early in the morning. Blaze groaned again, brushing herself off as she walked about curiously, heels clacking against the ground. "Where am I?"

Rounding a corner, she looked up at a sign which seemed to be above a shop. 'Station Square Bakery!' the sign said, giving the feline that she was indeed in a place called Station Square.

"There's got to be a way to get back, though…"

"Blaze?"

Her ears perked up at the sound of her name, eyes making contact with a pair of friendly brown ones. "Vanilla!"

"What are you doing here, dear? I thought you had gone home?" the tall rabbit asked, concern filling her features as she held a basket in one of her paws.

"I have no idea, ma'am."

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><p><strong>AN: I came up with the idea of this story when I was watching TV, when an advertisement for the movie 'Notting Hill' or whatever it's called came on, and I'm like, "Yep, story time!" **

**I've never watched the movie so hopefully I don't copy it in any way. I hope you enjoyed the prologue and Chapter 1 will be up soon!**

**Word Count: 959**

**You know the drill guys, please review! (:**

**~CL**


	2. Chapter 1: To a New Beginning

**Chapter 1: To a New Beginning **

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

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><p>Vanilla the Rabbit was a very kind woman. As soon as she saw her young daughter's friend, she immediately felt concerned for the teenage feline, and had ushered the girl to her home for some comfort.<p>

As much as Blaze had tried to politely protest, stating that she needed to find a way home immediately, her protests were ignored. "Blaze, dear, I insist!" Vanilla had said, as the cat frowned slightly, but hesitantly followed the rabbit to her home anyway.

When they got back to the hut, Blaze seated herself at the wooden table which was in the kitchen as Vanilla placed her shopping on the bench and fixed Blaze a cold drink. "Here you go."

"Thankyou." Blaze responded politely. "Um..." she started, fingering the cold drink hesitantly, nervously. "Do you know what time Cream will be back?"

"Oh, Cream is actually sleeping over at Chris's house, wanting to help out Ella with a big barbecue tomorrow afternoon. You must join us!"

"I don't wish to intrude nor sound rude, ma'am, but I really need to talk to Cream. I'm not supposed to be here; I need to get back to own dimension. The Sol Emeralds are in danger again. My world-"

"Alright, dear. I'll take you over to Chris's. Or perhaps Mr. Tanaka could come and pick you up..." Vanilla said in thought, leaning back against the counter, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to come up with an idea.

"I'll be able to get there myself, don't worry yourself. Thankyou for inviting me over, ma'am." she said, bowing politely before hurrying out the door. Sighing once she got out of the small home, she walked towards the forest in order to try and direct herself to the Thorndyke residence.

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><p>"I have no idea where I'm going..." she murmured to herself, looking around at her surroundings, staring up at the treetops that only let in a little bit of sunlight. Sighing, she turned towards the right and started running towards the east. As she dodged the trees, leaves occasionally hit her face.<p>

A few hours later, she was slightly annoyed, running a bit faster until she finally saw the end of the forest, the honks of cars and chatters of people filled her pointed ears.

Moving a few large leaves aside, she slowly and hesitantly towards the city, catching the eye of curious citizens as they stared at her with wide eyes. Even though it wasn't in her nature, she cowered back for only a moment, but then put on her usual strong face and walking along the sidewalk. She ignored the looks and whispers she got from the people she was passing by, and just continued to walk ahead.

_"I've never seen a cat around here, before!"_

_"Do you think she came with the others?"_

_"Who could she be?"_

"Hey, Sonic! Check the X-Tornado! Tails added some really cool additions to the ship!" Chris Thorndyke exclaimed excitedly at his blue hedgehog friend who was currently visiting. Sonic was sitting in Chris's grandfather's room, just chilling out on one of the beanbags as he leaned back with his gloved hands behind his head.

"That's great." Sonic replied, opening an eye acknowledge Chris and smiling slightly in his normal 'cool manner'. "I'll take a look later. I think I'm gonna go for a run. See ya!" he yelled before speeding through the house, almost knocking over poor Ella and Cream who were carrying groceries after just coming back from the supermarket.

Chris watched from the upstairs window, grinning as the blue blur ran down his long driveway and made a left turn towards the central city.

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><p>The blue hedgehog skidded to a stop in the middle of the city, where the large screen was placed. A large crowd of people had gathered in order to see what was going on, so Sonic pushed through to get a better look.<p>

_"...And this cat is managing to fight off the robot with ease! I don't know who she is, but she sure is a wonder!" _the reporter said, glancing at the scene, sounding quite unprofessional.

"A cat? But cats around here can't fight..." Sonic muttered to himself in confusion, emerald eyes focused on the screen intently as he tried to figure out who this 'cat' was. All he could see at the moment was a purple silhouette, a large, red robot and a whole lot of smoke.

_"It looks the fighter is trying to fight for our city. We'll keep tabs on this story for more reports later. Constance Perry reporting."_

The screen then changed to a commercial as the crowd walked away. Sonic just continued to stand there, staring at the screen. "She seems so familiar..."

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><p>"What do you want?" Blaze yelled at the giant, red robot as its fist pounded down onto the hard soil again, just after Blaze managed to dodge out of the way. She ignited fireballs in her hands as she leaped up landed on the metal shoulder, throwing the fireballs as the face of the robot.<p>

It roared in response, swiping at her while she jumped down from the metal figure and turned to face it, putting her hands out and letting streams of fire at the face again while she let out a battle cry. "Leave this city _alone!_" she yelled.

Flames escaped her grip and started to burn and scorch the ground around them, starting to melt the metal feet of the robot. It started to lose its balance, the force of the flames pushing it backwards. The round body crashed to the ground, scorch marks covering the body. "I told you to back off..."

Blaze sighed, dusting off her hands as smoke started to rise from the robot. She straightened herself off, turning away to walk away from the sight and started to run away. The robot had suddenly dropped down in front of her when she walked back into the forest clearing to make her way to find Cream without all the stairs. She hated the attention; and too much came with her being a princess in Soleanna and she wasn't ready for any more attention from humans.

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><p><strong>AN: I think this is the quickest I've updated, haha.**

**I know the random fight scene between Blaze and the robot was kind of out there but I needed a way so Sonic knows that Blaze is in his dimension; he hasn't recognized Blaze yet.**

**Word count: 1028**

**I hope you like the first chapter of my story. :3 The next chapter will be up soon. :)**

**You guys know the drill, review! :D**

**~CL**


	3. Chapter 2: Sensing a Disturbance

**Chapter 2: Sensing a Disturbance**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

**¤ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø ¤**

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><p><em>'She seems familiar, but who is she?'<em> Sonic thought in annoyance, walking along the sidewalks of Station Square which surprised the people walking by. His spiky head was downcast, deep in thought before looking at the cloudy sky, as if hoping it would give him some answers.

He was that keen to discover her identity, to see if he knew her or not. She looked so similar to someone he knew, or had known, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It was like his memory had disappeared. He stopped in his tracks, and his emerald eyes just stared at one particular cloud, which seemed to take form of a cat. _'Okay, it's as if destiny the world is teasing me.' _

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><p>Knuckles the Echidna stood on one of the final steps of the temple on Angel Island. His arms were folded with his spiky knuckles sticking out of his gloves. His blue eyes scanned the half of the island he was standing on. He was calm; nothing seemed wrong at all until an eerie, green glow appeared from behind him. His eyes shifted in curiosity before whirling around and gasping.<p>

"Whaa? What's happening to the Master Emerald?" Knuckles grunted in panic, moving to get closer to the large jewel. His eyes widened as the glowing got brighter, almost blinding him as he shielded his face and groaned from the light. "Ugh!"

¤ø,¸¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,¸¸,ø ¤

_Finally, the white light started to fade away, leaving the red echidna confused as he removed his gloved hands hesitantly before groaning at the sight, his voice echoing slightly. __**"Another vision?"**_

_The scene around him was slightly faded to initially show that it was indeed a flashback, and not the present. He stepped forward slowly, glancing confusedly at the brick walls and high windows. His red and yellow sneakers scuffed slightly at the highly polished floors, and he could almost see his reflection in the ground._

_He heard yelling from down the hall, and so, he thrust his arms behind him and ran down the long corridor, finally skidding to a stop in front of heavy, metal doors which had been opened. He saw a group of men who looked like soldiers, a grey hedgehog with an aqua aura around his hand and a purple cat being pulled into a multi-coloured vortex. He scrunched his eyes in confusion, and just listened to the yelling._

_"Blaze, hang on!"_

_"Hurry, Master Silver!"_

_"I'm trying!"_

_Knuckles stayed back as the scene unfolded in front of him, watching as the protesting men attempted to run forward to help the feline while the grey hedgehog, who he assumed was Silver, struggled to keep the girl in the room while she was slowly pulled back into the vortex._

_"Take care of the kingdom until I get back! And guard the Sol Emeralds!" the cat exclaimed._

_"I will, I promise!"_

_"I'll be fine! Be safe!" _

_Soon, the feline was pulled completely into the vortex, Silver collapsed onto the hard ground, groaning as a tired, old lion started banging on the brick wall in frustration, yelling, "Your highness!" while the other guards tried to calm him down._

_"We need to find a way to get her back." Silver said calmly, rubbing his arm as he stood up. "We __**will **__find a way to get her back. Gather the best scientists in the kingdom into the castle laboratory. Now!" _

_The guards saluted and immediately hurried off as the lion turned to face Silver. "Are you sure, Master Silver? We need the princess to protect the kingdom."_

_"Wentworth, this is Blaze we're talking about. She saves and protects this kingdom almost on a daily basis. She'll be okay." he answered, as if he was trying to convince himself more than Wentworth while he walked out of the room to follow the guards into the direction of the castle laboratory._

_**"Why would the Master Emerald show me this?" **__Knuckles asked to himself. __**"She wouldn't have been transported to my world, would she? The Master Emerald probably sensed a disturbance..."**_

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><p>As another flash of white sent Knuckles back to his own dimension. He rubbed his head in annoyance before glaring up at the Master Emerald. "Now I must go track down the girl, mustn't I? I should tell Sonic that the cat has indeed returned to Metropolis. Oh, he's going to be thrilled..."<p>

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><p>"Oh, Sonic! Where are you?" a young, pink hedgehog sighed as she looked out of her window of her apartment. She sighed dreamily, resting her chin in her hands as she stared up at the cloudy sky. "I miss you."<p>

Turning away from the window and closing it, she walked over to the hot pink couch which was sitting in the middle of the living room. After she sat down, she curled her legs beside her as she leaned on an arm rest, debating with herself whether or not to turn on the television. _'Would Sonic be on Tv? I hope so, then I'd know if he was okay or not...'_

Reaching for the remote, she turned on the device and the screen turned on, revealing a man in a suit talking about news around the city.

_"In other news, we go back to where a scene took place just this morning, where a purple cat came out of no where, and started fighting what seems to be another one of Eggman's robots. No one has stepped forward to identify the animal, but we do know she is not from our world. When our reporters came to investigate the fight, they were shocked to find the feline no where in sight but the robot detached, scorched and destroyed. Police advise you keep an eye out for the animal and be aware of dangers."_

As the reporter was talking, the clip changed to show a lilac cat leap into the air and deliver a roundhouse kick into the robot's face, and Amy almost fell off the couch in shock when she leaned forward. "Blaze?"

Amy got up from the couch, forgetting to turn the television off and ran out of the room, towards where the telephone was. She quickly punched in a number and waited impatiently for the phone to ring. "C'mon... Pick up, pick up!"

**"Hello?"**

"Tails! Finally, have you seen the news?"

**"No, I haven't. I've been too busy working on updates for the X-Tornado. Why?"**

"Blaze is here!"

**"Who?"**

Amy sighed in annoyance, bouncing on her toes in anticipation. "Blaze the Cat! You know, the one with the Sol Emeralds?"

A crash was heard from the other line, leaving Amy confused. "Tails? Tails, are you there?"

**"Yeah, sorry! I just dropped the phone. Wow, Blaze is back? I wonder what she's doing here..."**

"I have no idea. But we should tell Sonic when we find him."

**"I will, and then we'll track down Blaze too."**

"Okay, call me back when you reach him."

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><p><strong>AN: Well, there you go readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm sorry for the wait. I know some of you probably wouldn't read this story because it's Sonaze but there will be hints of Sonamy because of her obsession with him (shout-out to Rachel-Rabbii - here you go, a little Sonamy in Chapter 2 for ya).**

**Chapter 3 will be up soon! So stay tuned!**

**You guys know the drill by now, press the little button on the bottom and review. :D**

**Word Count: 1148**

**~CL**


	4. Chapter 3: Adding to the Collection

**Chapter 3: Adding to the Collection**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

**¤ø,,ø ¤º°°º¤ø,Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ,ø¤º°°º¤ø,,ø**

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><p>Tails the Fox was usually the one who tried to be concerned the least, but that didn't always happen. So when his pink hedgehog friend, Amy Rose, had let him know that Blaze the Cat had indeed returned to his dimension, he was really shocked.<p>

How did she come all the way back to Metropolis? Was there another tear in the dimension barrier?

He was worried now, he couldn't keep his fingers straight as he tried to screw a bolt back in with a spanner, but he couldn't tighten it because he was nervous. What if something bad had happened?

He really needed to tell Sonic. Now where was that hedgehog?

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><p>'<em>It's like I've had a mental blank…' <em>Sonic thought as he continued to walk back towards Chris Thorndyke's house, glad that he was close because he wanted to see if they were updating any news report on the robot or the purple cat.

Still not bothering to run, he just kept a normal pace as he walked the streets. He eventually got there within ten minutes, stepping through the polished doors as he yelled his arrival to the occupants of the house. "Hey, everyone!"

He heard scuffs of sneakers against the extremely clean floors (courtesy of Ella, of course) before a yell of his name were heard from the top of the staircase. "Sonic!" Chris yelled, smiling brightly as he bolted down the stairs with Tails on his heels.

Sonic gave Tails a confused look at his concerned expression. "What's wrong, li'l bro?"

His blue eyes showed a whole lot of worry, "Blaze is back!"

Sonic tilted his head to the side in confusion. "That's not possible. She's in her own dimension."

"Haven't you seen the news? She's been all over the news since that fight with one of Eggman's robot's this morning!"

He rubbed in chin in thought for a moment before the thought clicked in his mind, the missing piece to the puzzle finally in place. "That was Blaze? It didn't look like her…"

"It was her. We need to see what's she's doing here. What if there's a tear in the dimensional barrier again?" the twin-tailed fox asked hesitantly, his eyes widening slightly at the thought. "We need to find her immediately!"

"We'll find her, relax." Sonic advised with his usual cocky smirk back in place as he winked and gave his friend the thumbs up signal.

"So, who is Blaze?" Chris asked, his features creased together in a look of confusion as his auburn bangs covered his cobalt eyes. "You guys have never mentioned her before."

"We met her before you, Chris. She's a cat from another dimension, two hundred years into the future, if I recall. She's a princess as well and has somehow made her way back into our dimension through the dimension barrier." Tails explained carefully, not wanting to give away too much as he knew that if Blaze knew that he had told Chris everything, she may have reacted angrily to it.

"Another dimension?" the boy gasped, mouth open before curling into an excited smile. "That's so cool!"

"Other than the fact that consequences, and I mean bad ones, are usually along for the ride." Sonic added as Tails led them into the living room, all of them flopping down onto the yellow couch, the blue hedgehog sprawling himself out and leaning back against the pillows.

"What happened last time you saw Blaze?"

"Long story, Chris." Sonic answered, his friend showing disappointment in his eyes but shrugged it off anyway. "So, have there been any other reports about Blaze?"

"Not that I know of, I only found out through Amy when she called me earlier today. I don't think Chuck has heard anything either. What about you Chris?"

"There was a report on before. I think I might be able to rewind to when the update was on. Ever since dad updated the TV, we've been able too." He smiled, grabbing the remote and turning on the screen, opening up the channel menu and clicking on the report after scrolling backwards through the TV programs.

Sonic sat up almost immediately as he looked at the screen, eyes looking straight at Blaze when the camera angle shifted to the fighting scene between the purple feline and the robot. A helicopter must have been hovering over the scene as it took place.

"…_but the robot detached, scorched and destroyed. Police advise you keep an eye out for the animal and be aware of dangers."_

Sonic raised an eyebrow at that. Blaze was hardly dangerous unless she was defeating a villain. She could be scary, but she wasn't dangerous.

"That means they've sent out a search party to look for her. We need to find her before the government get to her." The yellow fox advised, looking at his friends. "C'mon, Chris, I've finished updating the X-Tornado so we can go have a look from a sky view. Sonic you can take the ground, right?"

He nodded in response. "I sure can!"

"Alright, we'll see you soon. Bye, Sonic!" the duo yelled as they raced downstairs towards the garage where the flying device was parked, obviously.

"By the way, Amy told me to tell you to call her when I reached you. " Tails added before following Chris out the door, leaving Sonic to lie back into the pillows and groaning in annoyance.

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><p>Rouge the Bat was always one to be attracted to something shiny, even if she realized that it was a chocolate rapper glistening against the sunlight. So the day she saw a shine reflecting from the ground, she couldn't help but swoop down to investigate what it was, being cautious for any dangers or traps around that could've been set up to lure someone to capture them.<p>

Finding no signs of movement or sounds, she slyly grinned and walked forward, digging slightly in the soil, dirtying her gloved fingers ever so slightly. After retrieving a rectangular shaped thing from the dirt, she blew on it and rubbed it, the jewel twinkling ever so slightly. It was turquoise in colour and sort of reminded her of a Chaos Emerald.

"Is this a Chaos Emerald?" she asked herself, reaching the jewel up curiously to her face for a better and closer look. "It looks like it, but it doesn't seem like it."

She grinned to herself anyway. "Oh, well. I've scored myself a beauty."

Running a few steps, she pushed off into the air before flapping her wings and soaring through the cloudy blue skies once more. She didn't bother navigating her way, holding the jewel to her face again, looking at the smooth edges and polished surface. "This is definitely one I'm keeping for my collection." She said in her usual, seductive voice.

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><p>Blaze dodged the cars on the busy roads as she ran through the streets of Station Square, looking left and right for any signs of her old acquaintances or one of the Sol Emeralds. Reaching into her glove, she pulled out a green Sol Emerald, revealing her lilac fur, and glanced down before returning it to its hiding place. She had found it after she had defeated the robot, and was now desperate to find the other ones.<p>

'_I hope Eggman doesn't track down any.' _She thought with worry, creasing her eyebrows together. _'All I want to do is go home.'_

After slowing down, she moved in between cars and back into the sidewalks, looking inside shop windows for any signs of the Sol Emeralds. After passing a costume shop, her eyes almost bulged out in shock as she watched a customer walk in a Sonic the Hedgehog costume. She put a hand to her mouth, attempting to hold back a laugh, continuing to ignore the stares and whispers she recieved from the people around her.

She was supposed to control her emotions and that meant she wasn't supposed to laugh.

But seriously, what was the person thinking?

'_Is Sonic famous around here or something?' _she asked herself, looking inside the other stores she passed and noticed other Sonic franchise here and there.

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><p><strong>AN: This is definitly the story I will be updating quickly; heaps of ideas are running through my head to continue it (I hope I didn't just jinx myself :S) but it's gonna be hard to find time to actually write the chapter because of all the homework I have to do.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed Chapter 3. :) Review, please! I really appreciate it. Chapter 4 will be up soon.**

**Word Count: 1354**

**~CL**


	5. Chapter 4: Opening Her Heart Again

**Chapter 4: Opening Her Heart Again**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

**¤ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ,ø¤º°°º¤ø,,ø**

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><p>Sonic ran through the streets of Station Square, his hand covering his eyes so he could spot Blaze easier as he turned his head from side to side as he tried to find her. He wondered if Blaze was looking for him as well.<p>

'_Let's hope I find her soon.'_

A small, grew dust cloud formed behind him as his red and white sneakers scraped quickly against the gravel of the road. No one really noticed, they were all used to the blue blur running back and forth and zipping across the country at the speed of sound. They didn't even bother to stop and think about what he was running from or looking for.

'_I wonder if Tails and Chris are having better luck than I am.'_ The cobalt blue hedgehog thought to himself as he skidded to a halt, his arms flying out to help him decrease the speed. He turned around in a circle slowly, hoping for a glimpse of the purple feline somewhere before his green eyes spotted something near a costume shop window. He walked slowly towards the glass, noticing some teenager in a costume of himself. He inwardly cringed, walking into the shop and putting on his famous smile.

"Hey there, kid! Nice costume." He greeted, giving the large replica of himself a thumbs up.

The person inside turned around and an excited voice came out from the hole in the replica's mouth. "Thanks, Sonic! I decided to go as you for my friend's costume party because you're my hero." He grinned happily at the hedgehog, who smiled.

"You've done a good job then, my friend."

"Yes he has." Said a familiar voice from behind him, and something a violet colour was walking through the shadows. "It's good to see you again." Said the voice as they stepped out into the light, revealing Blaze with her normal emotionless façade on.

"Blaze," he said, nodding curtly. "I heard you were back and I've been looking for you." He said, trying to resist the urge of letting his mouth drop open. She looked different in a way, older if you must. She was now taller, though Sonic was the same height. Her fur at the top of her head, which she usually kept in a red hair band, was now let loose around her face while the band sat on her right wrist. Instead of her normal purple, red and white robe she wore, she was now wearing a deep red version with a purple trimming, and flames on the bottom of the robe.

She had kept the shoes, though; nothing could replace the shoes, even if they were starting to wear out.

Sonic hadn't changed much at all, except grown taller and his voice had deepened slightly.

The person in the Sonic costume seemed to sense they wanted to talk privately so he quickly left the room.

"It's great to see you, Blaze. So, what are you doin' in town?" Sonic asked, starting to walk out of the shop and motioning for Blaze to follow as he opened the door, letting the feline out first while he followed her out.

The two started walking down the street while Sonic directed them towards the Thorndyke's home.

"I'm not here for a vacation, Sonic, only for business." She warned. "The Sol Emeralds were once again attempted to be abducted by Eggman Nega. I acted immediately and retrieved them back. After I put them back into place, they formed a portal and I was suddenly sent here. I sense that the Sol Emeralds are somewhere in your world as well, so I must retrieve them." The purple cat explained.

"Alright, where do we—"

"_Alone." _She emphasized with her golden eyes boring into his as a warning gaze. "I mean it. I wasn't even going to try and track you down. I already owe you too much from the other times and I do not wish to be a bother towards you with this issue. I have gotten a lot stronger since you last saw me."

"You seem like it, princess." He teased, poking her in the shoulder. "Anyway, I'm going to help you whether you let me or not. Don't you remember last time? You were struggling to get the staff back on your own, and don't you think it's going to be a bit harder to get them back since my world has clashed with a human world? They've merged together, so we're going to help you."

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Is that a challenge?"

He smirked in response. "Maybe. So anyway, how's Marine?"

Blaze nodded her head and shrugged. "She's good, I think. She came to visit me a couple of weeks ago on one of her new transport things. I think she called it the Whirlpool."

"That's great!" Sonic exclaimed. "So, you don't mind moving really quickly, do you?"

"Uh no, why—_Sonic!"_

Blaze screamed his name as he picked her up bridal style and started to bolt down the street. "Sorry! We were moving to slow!"

She clung to his neck while she glared up at him. "You could've warned me, then I would've started to run, you dolt!"

"Oh, stop complaining." He sniggered. They were at the Thorndyke residence in no time, and when he let her down, she hit him on the back of the head.

"Ow, Blaze!" he whined, a hand moving to nurse the wound. It had a slightly burning sensation from her powers. "What was that for?"

"That was for going 'speedy' on me, mister." She huffed, turning away and moving towards the door. "So, why did you bring me here?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips and staring up at the large mansion. Everything looked perfect about it; not a leaf or blade of grass out of place. It looked a lot like her palace at home but her castle was bigger of course.

"A friend of mine lives here, but him and Tails are out in the X-Tornado looking for you." Sonic explained, walking up behind her as Blaze walked towards the door.

"Why would they be out looking for me?" she asked with her back still turned to him. "You must have been worried about me."

He blushed slightly and placed a hand behind his quilled head, and laughed nervously. "Again, maybe."

He walked in front of her and pressed the button to the doorbell for the second time that day, and the two waited patiently for someone to open the door. A bit of shuffling was soon heard, then a crash, and a woman cursing in a native accent for the doorknob turned and the door opened to reveal Ella once again, her brown hair messy and her apron falling off her waist. Sonic tilted his head to the side as Blaze and himself walked inside. "Is everything alright, Ella?"

"Yes, of course!" she exclaimed with a large smile, leading them inside. "I see you found your friend, Sonic." she said, gesturing towards Blaze who curtsied and bowed her head politely.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Ella giggled, and smiled down at the cat. "It's nice to meet you too, young one."

"I'm gonna take Blaze upstairs now, Ella. I'll see you later." he grinned and dragged a protesting Blaze up too Chuck's laboratory. The door wasn't locked, and as he opened the door, his hand began to grow hot and he pulled it away, blowing on his hand.

"I told you to let go of me! Next time listen to me."

"No need to get so feisty or defensive." Sonic whimpered, pressing his hand to his chest as he walked inside and sat down onto a beanbag. "So, this is Chuck's lab. Tails and Chuck spend most of their time in here or the garage whenever we come over to start tinkering with their inventions or something else to improve it somehow."

"Impressive." Blaze stated simply, looking around the room with her usual emotionless expression on her face.

Sonic sighed. He was going to have to start all over again to get the girl to open up to him and his friends again. It was hard enough to convince her to let them help the very first time when the dimensional barrier had been torn last. They ended up in a battle, them both fighting in order to get the other to understand their side of the story.

Blaze was thinking a similar thing, but her side was different.

_'I can't get to close to him. It was hard enough to let my good friends leave, but what about when I have to leave? I can't let him in on too much...' _Blaze thought to herself, her golden eyes looking at the hardwood floor as Sonic studied her from his position on the other side of the room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm so sorry for the wait. :3 I'm also sorry about both Sonic and Blaze being OOC in this chapter, I started writing this up during English this morning and finishing it off now during RE so yeah. xD**

**Anyway, I hope you like it. Please review, flames are accepted. (:**

**Word Count: 1480**

**~CL**


	6. Chapter 5: Bolts of Lightning

**Chapter 5: Bolts of Lightning**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

_****¤,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ,ø¤º°°º¤ø,,ø****_

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><p>"No luck finding her..." Tails sighed as he pressed a red button to open the screen to let out himself and his human friend, Chris. The two jumped out of the aeroplane and walked towards the door to get inside the mansion after closing off the garage door.<p>

"I don't think Sonic is going to be happy." Chris said, his blue eyes looking around nervously as they moved inside the main room, their sneakers scuffing once again against the polished floor.

_"I told you to listen to me! Next time let go of me." _said a feminine voice from upstairs. Chris, of course, wouldn't recognise it but Tails's ears pricked almost instantly at the sound of it.

"Blaze is here?" he asked himself, grabbing Chris's shirt and and the two hurried up the stairs, following the sound of the voice before hearing another one which they assumed was their blue friend's. "Hey, Sonic!"

The hedgehog came into view gave Tail's and Chris a thumb's up. "Don't worry, guys, Blaze is here with me. I found her when I was looking through the streets."

Sonic led Chris and Tails inside to see the said purple feline browsing through the room, until she turned around at the sound of footsteps. "Hello, Tails. It's good to see you again." she said, nodding towards the yellow fox before holding out her hand to the only human in the room. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I assume you're Chris, yes?"

He nodded in response, a large grin appearing on his face. "Yeah, that's right!"

She just nodded once again in reply, not bothering to talk any further. Chris looked at the cat as she turned away without another word before glancing at the others who just waved her actions off, and Sonic looking at Blaze again with a look of concern. He pulled Tails to the corner of the room to talk quietly, and their expressions seemed serious so Chris didn't bother to interfere. Instead, he walked over to one of the beanbags and sank into it, looking at Blaze curiously. Blaze just ignored his curiousity, not bothering to elaborate.

"So, where are you from, Blaze?" he asked curiously while Blaze turned to look at him.

"I'm not from around here." she replied bluntly. He looked at the red jewel which crowned her forehead, with the light from the window reflecting off it.

"Do you have any powers?"

At this question, she tensed up, her shoulders rising above their usual, relaxed stance and turned to look at him slowly. "I'm sorry, but I shouldn't be here. I do not wish to endanger anyone." she said, glancing over at the two who were talking quietly who had helped her various times. "Sonic," she called, turning to face him.

She didn't walk over, and nor did Sonic. He just stopped mid-sentence and looked over at her. "I'm going to go have a look myself for the Sol Emeralds. Please, if you do find any, don't hesitate to find me." she explained, before hurrying out the door.

Sonic sighed. "She's still as stubborn as ever..."

Tails nodded in agreement. "Yeah, do you think she'll come around again eventually?"

"Hopefully."

* * *

><p>After the encounter that the Master Emerald has showed him, Knuckles was now travelling the distance towards the Thorndyke's residence. <em>'Maybe Sonic has already tracked down Blaze...' <em>he thought to himself, his gloved hands behind him as he ran. _'Let's hope so because her being here is destroying the dimensional barrier.'_

While still on Angel Island, Knuckles had gone over the situation over and over in his head. He usually just jumped to conclusions but right now, he was actually thinking it through, and so, had come to the conclusion that Blaze was, not intentionally, breaking the dimensional barrier. He had to find her, and fast.

Finally getting to the large mansion, he hurried up the footpath that was surrounded by palm trees. He didn't bother knocking, just pushed open the door, and yelled out the hedgehog's name. _"Sonic!"_

The name echoed through the halls, and Knuckles was about to run up the stairs until something burning brushed past him. He gripped his arm, and turned to look behind him to the see the very burning cat he was looking for.

She seemed to have a distressed look on her face from what he could tell as she rushed out the door and sped off of the giant property.

Not accepting the fact straight away, the information finally processed itself inside Knuckle's mind. He growled at himself, almost tempted to punch his own self in the face for letting her get away. He really needed to talk to her about this situation. "Damn!"

"Hey, Knuckle-head!"

He looked up at the sound of a care-free voice saying his 'nick-name' (one he didn't really like, I might add). "Sonic." he answered, nostrils flared in annoyance.

He just grinned back, before looking over at the door when his shoulders lowered, defeated. "Blaze already leave?"

"Your girlfriend just left, blue boy."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Sonic retaliated. Knuckles raised an eyebrow. When did Sonic get worked up over something like that? Usually the hedgehog was usually the most carefree of the whole gang. "Anyway, what's up?"

"I need to talk to Blaze." Knuckles in a serious tone, his head lowering but his gaze remained on Sonic. "Her arrival in our time has sparked a trigger inside the dimensional barrier which could destroy it. I saw what happened; how she came. I've never seen vortexes that colour before."

Sonic tried to think of an opposing argument to Knuckle's but what he was saying made sense. "But she can't get out of here yet. Like the first time, the Sol Emerald's have been scattered across our world so she needs to track 'em down."

"Hmm... We're going to have to try and stop the barrier from tearing any further while she tries to find them then."

"I couldn't agree more."

* * *

><p>"It doesn't seem like a normal jewel..." Rouge murmured to herself as she fiddled around with retangular shaped jewel. She breathed on it gently, before wiping it with her wrist, the jewel shining slightly against the small lantern which lit up the room she was currently residing in. The room was nothing special, just a small, dingy motel room which she was staying until she could be bothered flying back to her own base.<p>

The jewel seemed to glow slightly, and if you looked closely, a flame seemed to be ingnited in the centre. Rouge didn't notice, but instead returned the jewel into her pouch and started to inspect her pink, perfectly manicured nails on her left hand while pondering on the subject of the jewel still. "Where could it be from?" she muttered quietly. Getting up from the chair she was sitting in, she quickly blew out the candle inside the lanturn before moving towards the window, flying out into the night as it was dark where she currently residing.

* * *

><p>Blaze soon stopped running, now back in the forest where she glanced around. She was not really used to this; this forest seemed to be much thicker than the one in her time. She turned her gaze towards the tree tops, as the sky was getting darker as the clouds rumbled loudly, lightning soon erupting from the sky.<p>

She didn't even flinch at the sound, but her golden eyes soon widened when the clouds seperated when a lightning bolt crashed to the ground right near her. "What's going on?" she yelled frantically, but attempted to keep calm. The grey clouds rolled away in a complicated, swirling pattern to reveal the darkening sky with a large, jagged streak in the air. It seemed that the sky had a giant cut in it, and the rip looked almost exactly like the portal had when it sucked her into this time, but now red and black were added to the mix.

Her eyes widened, taking a few steps back from shock before tripping over a nearby log. Another bolt of lightning crashed to the ground near her again, as if trying to eliminate her. She gasped, standing up and ignited powerful fireballs in her hands, throwing them up at the sky. Her powers did nothing. "Damn!" she cursed loudly.

"What do I do?" she exclaimed, screaming into the forest.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the wait on the update, I've been pretty busy. Plus, I'm finishing/uploading this when I should be doing my RE assignment (still need to do it o.O).**

**The plot seems a bit confusing right now, but it will get better. I still have ideas running through my head. xD**

**Word Count: 1486**

**~CL**


	7. Chapter 6: Thoughts on a Friend

**Chapter 6: Thoughts on a Friend**

**_by Cerulean Leader_**

_****ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,****Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ****,****ø¤º°°º¤ø****,,****ø****_

* * *

><p><em><em>Blaze the Cat was used to defeating monsters and villains in her city, defending her people and helping out when something was wrong. But one thing she had never faced was a rip in the sky, and one as violent as this.

As she held her arms out, her face was scrunched in concentration as she tried to summon all of her power into this one attack, hoping to at last delay the lightning bolts striking the forest around her form. It wasn't even raining, and she was still straining to see.

Her eyes glowed, a red tint around them that soon surrounded her body in a smoky, transparent red aura and she let out an extremely loud battle cry as crimson flames streamed out of her hands in a flaming beam up towards the jagged hole in the clouds.

Another bolt of lightning decided to crash down at the instant, connecting with the flames which made her eyes widen once again. The lightning was powering up the fuse, creating it to become a large ball of fire, which soon exploded.

The force of the explosion sent Blaze flying away from the forest with a scream, scorching half of the forest along with her. Trees turned brown, the grass was turned to ashes and the ground cracked as the explosion grew.

Her body flew around helplessly as she was shot back, the impact from the sonic waves leaving horrible looking marks on her body. She soon landed with a horrible thud on the ground, leaving her unconscious with her arms tangled around her head. Her clothes were singed and ripped beyond repair, hardly covering her body. Her hair was now covered in soil, and the band that usually held it up was long gone. A large cut had formed across her left calf, blood now pooling at her feet and covering her shoes.

* * *

><p>"Hmm... Where should I head to next?" Rouge asked herself as she glided through the clouds gracefully, her hands by her sides as her satchel hung around her neck. She glanced down at it briefly, a hand gripping the flap so it didn't go flying or let anything out in the process.<p>

Her hand did a quick search from the outside of the bag, and a sigh of relief as her hand brushed against the jewel which she had hidden on purpose inside the satchel in case someone decided to have their grimy hands search into the brown bag of hers which held something valuable. Raising her gaze and looking behind her to where Sonic and the others resided, she couldn't but widen her eyes when she saw a flash of light appear and grow in the shape of a flaming sphere.

_'What is that?' _she thought, slightly worried about the others, but soon shook it off, not bothering to think on it any longer but instead decided to focus on her next destination. Little did she know, that's where she would be going again...

* * *

><p>"Don't you think you should've gone after her?" Knuckles said in his usual gruff voice, his arms folded as he looked at the blue hedgehog before him who was just lounging about on the couch in the television room. Sonic glanced at him briefly before turning his gaze back onto the television, the sound coming from the speakers playing in the background while they conversed.<p>

"Blaze is very stubborn, and prefers to do things her own way. As much as I want to help her, she won't let me. She'll come back to ask eventually."

"But aren't you worried about her?" asked Chris. The boy was seated across from Sonic on the other arm chair, his arms on either side of him as he glanced between Knuckles and Sonic.

Without taking his green eyes from the TV, Sonic bowed his head slightly. "Yeah, a little..."

Tails was leaning back against the couch which Sonic was seated at, running the situation over and over again in his mind, analyzing it in every possible angle he could think of. "I still don't understand why she was brought here, though. Sure, because of the portal that transported her here but she lives in a completely different universe to us." the twin-tailed fox said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "What would've caused the portal to suck her in like that? Maybe the Sol Emeralds were playing up in her world, again..."

"Let's hope not." Sonic replied, pressing a button on the remote. The show he was watching changed on the screen to one of the cartoons which Cream would've liked, before changing it again instantly to a sports show which he then sat up immediately and watched the show in interest.

_"And look at the dive! Whoa, and then we've got Ilder from the Knights is ready to tackle Parker!"_

Even though he wasn't trying to think about it, he couldn't help but think about her and her situtation, but the more he thought about it, the more he began to worry. Was she alright? Has something happened to her? Did she-

_"We interrupt this segment to bring you an update on the mysterious cat who had fought what appeared to be another one of Eggman's robots earlier. She was found lying on the ground, bruised and bloody from what appeared to be another fight in a forest east of the central part of the city. What appears to be a hole in the sky may have been to what has caused her the injuries as bolts of lightning have been shooting around the site while the medical team removed her and took her to safety." _the reporter said as the camera soon focused on the crescet shaped rip in the sky, with a dark mixture of red, blue and black swirled inside it.

The four occupants of the room leaned forward to listen to the reporter as they mentioned Blaze, a look of concern each plastered on their faces, even Knuckles who wasn't exactly a fan of hers.

* * *

><p>"Oh, this rain!" complained a pink hedgehog, as she held the white hood to her rain coat over her head. It had started to rain heavily earlier, and she was drenched pretty much head to toe, and her shoes had water in them from unitentionally stepping in puddles. "Why did it have to come now?"<p>

Amy looked up at the sky with her blue eyes filled with detirmination. She started to run faster down the sidewalk from her home and towards the Thorndyke residence. She had tried contacting Sonic again, but it seemed like her telephone line had been cut because of the storm. Amy groaned and attempted to pull the hood over her head more, but if she did, the coat would also rise, leaving the back of her legs bare and ready to get wet. "I really should buy a new one."

Looking up at the sky reluctantly, she stopped and gasped at what she saw. Her gaze shocked her, for over the trees was none other than the swirling crescent above the forest tree-tops. She hadn't seen the update on it, nor the rest of it, as she had already been on her way out. "What is that?" she yelled as she continued to run, almost tripping over her own feet.

* * *

><p>"Ah, so the cat is back, eh?" Eggman asked rhetorically as a sly yet large grin formed on his oddly shaped head. He was seated on his black leather seat within the control room of his base, his hands together without his robot servants around to annoy him. He had commanded that they go into the repair room to polish some of his best robots for later use.<p>

As he looked at the screen as it focused on an injured Blaze, his smile grew bigger. "Now I can get my revenge. She's already destroyed one of my robots, I'm sure that if I build an even stronger one, she won't be able to take that down now that she is injured. Or that the one I'm working on is going to be powered with two of the Sol Emeralds." he said, a maniac laugh erupting from his lungs as he pressed a button to levitate a green and white Sol Emerald, each spinning as they were trapped inside a make-shift 'dungeon' so they wouldn't be able to be removed from the base of where Doctor Eggman worked.

"Blaze, my dear, get ready as this person is not one to just lay back and stay defeated!" he bellowed, arms out wide as he yelled at the ceiling, letting another maniac laugh before having a coughing fit.

* * *

><p>"I hope Blaze is okay, Cheese." Cream the Rabbitt said as she sat in the waiting room of the hospital, the blue chao sitting in her lap, looking up at his young friend with concern also in his beady eyes.<p>

"Chao chao!" he chirped in agreement. Cream sighed and swung her legs impatiently as she waited for her mother to return beside her. She had left to go get some coffee. After watching the news, Vanilla had gathered her daughter, quickly written a note for Vector if he came by looking for her and the two had rushed to the hospital in search for Blaze.

When the two had got there, they almost instantly went to the reception, asking about the cat and the receptionist had explained that they would have to wait whie the doctors treated her as best as they could, and had advised that they wait patiently in the waiting room as it could take a while, and she was right. So, here they were, waiting for some news, and hopefully good news.

She looked up as her mother sat back down beside her, holding out two juice boxes with a kind smile with a cup of coffee in the other hand.

"Thanks, mum." Cream said in response, pushing the straw into the hole and handing one of them to Cheese as Cream pushed the straw into her own and started to sip the juice.

"She'll be alright, Cream."

"If you say so..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for taking so long for an update, I've been pretty busy and been updating what I can between MOY and this one. I take it in turns, 'see. Anyway, please review this one. I've been trying to make them longer as I add a chapter on to the story.**

**So, how do you like this one? Does it seem to be coming together more? :)**

**Word Count: 1,773**

**~CL**


	8. Chapter 7: Acceptance from Blaze

**Chapter 7: Acceptance from Blaze**

**_by Cerulean Leader_**

_****ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,****Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ****,****ø¤º°°º¤ø****,,****ø****_

* * *

><p>"Sonic, Tails, Chris, I need to talk to you!" Amy the Hedgehog yelped as she ran up the driveway of the large property, panting in the rain. She had already started to sneeze, but she couldn't focus on getting herself better when something as big as this was beginning to make its way into her town. Amy continued to run forward, avoiding the puddles which had dotted themselves along the concrete, pausing for a moment to sneeze. She groaned and rubbed her nose, her shoes slapping against the wet ground as she continued to run.<p>

Amy continued to run, and pushed on the door which was covered by the balcony, and the door swung open, while she ran inside, not bothering to wait for Mr. Tanaka or Ella to greet her. She skidded to a halt in front of the television room, and leaned down to catch her breath as four figures ran into the entrance hall, preparing to make their way back where Amy had just come from.

"Sonic!" she called before he could run out the door. He looked at her, and quickly walked back to her, hesitating slightly in case she tackled him into another one of her bone-crushing hugs, but when she didn't, his face grew even more serious and firm with detirmination and it was earlier

"Amy! We were just about to go see Blaze, because she was struck down, and now she's at the hospital-"

"Sonic, there's this _huge _thing outside in the sky, it's all weird-shaped and scary looking!" she shrieked, cutting him off, pointing up towards the gray sky. Sonic and the others followed her gaze, their eyes widening. Was this the damage that Tails had warned them about?

"Do you think this has anything to do with the cat?" Knuckles asked gruffly to Tails, trying to act calm.

"I honestly hope not, but there is a high chance that what we see there is the dimensional barrier's bruisings from Blaze travelling through time. It was already unstable from when Sonic and I travelled to Mobius where Blaze and Marine live, but this is really bad. C'mon, we got to go find Blaze!" he explained, nodding his head as his eyes showed even more seriousness than ever.

"Amy, you should stay here with Ella and Mr. Tanaka in case they start asking questions." Chris suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe you should stay as well, Chris," Sonic added. "We don't want you getting hurt."

"I'm coming whether you guys like it or not." the boy said stubbornly. The others shrugged and ran outside towards the garage with Chris on their tail.

"Be careful!" Amy called to their retreating forms.

* * *

><p>"You are allowed to go see her now." a nurse said after she came out of Blaze's room with a small smile. Cream jumped up eagerly with Cheese hovered excitedly next to her and they both hurried inside while Vanilla stayed outside to talk to the nurse in order to see how Blaze was. A small department within the hospital had been built because of Sonic and the rest of the gang, because they weren't like normal animals within their world.<p>

Cream walked in hesitantly with Cheese beside her, and saw Blaze lying on the bed, glaring at the ceiling as if it were the one responsible for putting her in there or for making her seem weak. She didn't seem to notice Cream or Cheese, until the rabbit awkwardly cleared her throat and leaned on the hard matress of the bed they had placed her feline friend. "Hello, Blaze! It's good to see you again!"

"Chao chao!"

Blaze smiled softly at her younger friend. "It's good to see you both as well." she responded, moving so she was sitting up more so she could talk better. "How did you know I was here?"

"We heard about you getting hurt by the news. Apparently you got attacked by that thing in the sky earlier today." Vanilla's voice interrupted as she entered the room. gesturing to the bruises which were starting to form, the bandages covering bad wounds and to the scratches along Blaze's body. "How are you feeling now, dear?"

Blaze shrugged in response. "I've been better." she sighed, her head down in disappointment. "You'd think I would've been able to do something about that... thing! I'm the princess in my own dimesion, I've taken down psychotic monsters, mad scientists, horrendous villains, yet I completely failed this."

"Don't think like that, Blaze! I'm sure you can do it when you get better." Cream said, attempting to cheer her friend up as Cheese landed gracefully on her shoulder with a 'chao chao' in agreement. Vanilla looked at Blaze sympathetically, standing beside the bed on the opposite side of where her daughter and Cheese were.

"Cream's right, dear."

"You don't understand. I need to get out of here so I can go..." her voice trailed when she finally realized that she sounded ridiculous. "I really need to calm down."

"Just rest up and regain your strength, then go and see what you can do to help." Vanilla advised. "Have you seen Sonic yet? He may be able to help you as well, you needed to get back home, yes?" she asked with a smile forming on her face.

"Yes, I already found him, but I told him not to worry."

"Blaze prefers doing things on her own," Cream explained, interrupting before her mother decided to ask why. "For Sonic to get through to her the first time, they had a battle of their own so Blaze would come to her senses and know they she wasn't on her own when they first met." After her explanation, Blaze looked at her friend in surprise. She sounded so unlike herself, like she was older than she really was. Obviously she had aged since Blaze had seen her rabbit friend last, but still. It was surprising as she still had a sense of innocence about her.

"Really?" asked her mother in surprise.

"Yes," Blaze admitted reluctantly.

* * *

><p>"It looks even worse from out here!" Chris exclaimed as he pressed his hands against the glass, staring up at the stormy crescent in the sky. He didn't know to think of it, but he did know it was majorly dangerous, and hopefully something that he and his friends could handle. "Do you think that we can handle it?"<p>

The group was currently flying inside the X-Tornado, with Tails piloting, as always. Sonic was behind, after much pressuring from the others, as he would've preferred to sit in front of the others, whereas Chris and Knuckles were sitting in the opposite compartment. "I'm sure we can." Sonic answered, leaning back against his chair with his legs pressed against Tail's chair. His eyes were facing his folded arms, and he was still thinking about Blaze. Was she doing okay now?

"We're almost there, guys, just pulling in now." Tails said as he turned the steering wheel so the plane turned swiftly in the air and slowly landed on one of the helicopter pads outside the hospital walls. After getting out of their seats and jumping to the ground, the four of them walked towards the lobby entrance, Chris requested Blaze's room number, and the receptionist gave them the information. With the number in their heads, they thanked the receptionist and they all walked towards the elevator with Sonic resisting the urge to just rush up the stairs.

The bell let out a small ring to alert the occupants of the metal box that they had reached a level, and they stepped out once the door opened, looking at the signs to direct themselves to Blaze's hospital room. After finally got there, Sonic led them inside after knocking.

"Hey, guys." he greeted as Tails knocked after Sonic and the others walked right in.

"Hello, everyone!" Cream replied, while Cheese waved. Vanilla smiled in acknowledgement as Blaze looked away. She knew what was coming, and didn't exactly want a lecture from the blue hedgehog who was looking at her with slight annoyance, concern and relief mixed within his expression.

Sonic hesitated momentarily, but gained the courage to ask, "Could I speak with Blaze alone for a minute?"

The feline's ears perked up at the sound of her name. How did she know he was going to talk to her over this? She turned around, despite her dislike for the conversation that was coming for her, and gave the others who had just walked in a nod in order to greet them. Knuckles nodded back, while Tails and Chris gave her a waye, though Chris's revealed he was still nervous around her.

"Uh, sure, Sonic." Tails said everyone walked out of the room, some relucting at first but obeyed his wishes.

Sonic started to pace, while Blaze watched him, sitting up properly against the pillow. He finally stopped and glanced at her, and she was unsure on how to begin. "I told you that I would help you."

"I don't need any help, you've helped me enough over the years; with the Sol Emeralds the first time and then the time with the Jeweled Scepter, and I shouldn't have to burden you with my problems every time one of us travel through time accidently."

"You didn't burden me with anything, and I thought we had become friends, so that you'd allow me to help you. You can't always do everything alone, so I don't understand why you're shutting us out again, why you're shutting me out again." he said, sounding a little hurt than his usual 'cool' demeanor.

"Why are you so worked up over this? I must be the one to find my own way home and-"

"Blaze..." he interrupted warningly. "Please, just let me help this time. You know we'll be able to help you a lot more if you let us in again instead of forcing you into letting us. I'm not going to fight you again."

"I don't want to fight you again, but please, just let me do this on my own. That thing in the sky is my fault, I can sense it. What are my people going to say?"

He walked up to her, his green eyes flaring. "You almost got yourself killed because of that thing. It is _not _your fault, do you understand?"

He was whispering harshly in response to her, and he was obviously frustrated and annoyed. "Just let me help..."

She was surprised at his behaviour, almost wincing.

_Almost._

"Alright, alright, fine. You win." she sighed.

He smiled in satisfaction. "That's what I like to hear."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey, readers! Sorry for making you guys wait for an update (for the few who actually like this and have continued to read it...) but I've been busy with other stories and homework, and working on this bit by bit. I apologize for the major OOCness with Cream and Sonic, but they've grown older, so it doesn't really matter, does it? :S**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

**Word Count: 1874**

**Please review, it's greatly appreciated. **

**~CL**


	9. Chapter 8: Rubble and Emeralds

**Chapter 8: Rubble and Emeralds**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

_**_****ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,****Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ****,****ø¤º°°º¤ø****,,****ø****_**_

* * *

><p>It had been a few days since Blaze had been let out of the local hospital, and the doctors who had been taking care of the feline had advised that she rest for a little while and not stress, but that did not stop the princess from continuing to look for the Sol Emeralds. No matter how much the other's protested, she would always win the argument.<p>

Reporters had surrounded the Thorndyke residence a few times, trying to get interviews with them over the attack, an interview with Blaze and just trying to pick up some gossip on them.

All of them had been keeping tabs on the rip in the sky, even Knuckles who had recently left to go back to Angel Island, where he was again guarding the Master Emerald. Even though he didn't want to leave his post as guard, he would continue to visit to see how the search was going, and help out in any way he could.

Blaze sat on the balcony of the room she was staying in, staring up at the night sky with her arms wrapped around her legs. She was pretty high up from the neatly trimmed grass on the ground, but she didn't take any notice. Sighing, Blaze tightened the grip on her hands.

"Why are you sighing?" asked Sonic's voice from behind her, as a thump was heard, indicating he had just jumped down onto the ground from the roof. He walked forward to stand beside her, his hands leaning on the railing while he staring up at the stars and moon like she was doing.

"I'm just worried about everyone back home." she admitted, surprising herself slightly that she had confessed to him when she usually would have responded with 'nothing'.

"You don't have to be. I'm sure they'll be fine without their ruler for a few weeks while we look for the Sol Emeralds."

"I don't have a few weeks, Sonic. My kingdom could be at its downfall at any moment." she responded, her voice firm as she brought her knees closer to her chin, her golden eyes turning their gaze onto the blue hedgehog beside her. He turned to look at her as well, his serious gaze on once again like he had when he had yelled at her when she was still in the hospital.

"I promise, it'll be fine." Sonic replied. He held her gaze for a few moments while she searched his emerald eyes for any hints of doubt, and waited until she looked away after she was done looking.

"I hope you're right..."

"I always am." he smirked in response, his eyes softening and his usual, 'cool' grin appearing on his face with a wink and a thumbs-up.

"Whatever." Blaze answered, rolling her eyes.

* * *

><p>"It should be around here somewhere..." Tails muttered as he turned the steering wheel towards the left as he, Sonic and Blaze sat inside the flying, X-Tornado. Blaze looked calmly out the window while Sonic and Tails watched the beeping screen where the scanner indicated that something was nearby. The two-tailed fox directed the aeroplane to land gently on the ground before opening the latch so the others and himself could climb out.<p>

He grabbed a grey box with another beeping screen and attenae which looked strangely similar to a gaming console. He pressed a few buttons before turning opposite to the X-Tornado and heading towards a large, dirt hill which matched the dry-covered ground as well. It looked like a waste-land, and it was covered in dirt, perhaps the occasional weird here and there, but other than that, it was deserted.

"Are you sure we're in the right place, Tails?" Sonic asked, his ears pricking up at the sound of a cry from a bird from nearby as it echoed into the ears of Sonic, Blaze and Tails.

"Yeah, I'm positive!" he responded cheerfully, following Sonic and Blaze as they walked to get a better view of what was over the hill. "The scanner picked up the inside power of the Sol Emerald like it does when it senses a Chaos Emerald nearby." he explained.

The climb up the hill took at least fifteen to twenty minutes, seeing as it was pretty high and steep. Also because of the un-solid dirt which covered the hill, so sometimes they got their fot stuck and had to try and pull their foot out without getting their shoe stuck.

Once they reached the top, Tails had his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath as his right hand gripped the scanner as well. "Wow, that took ages." he said, looking over at Sonic who had his mouth agape and eyes wide in shock while Blaze had her hands on her hips, as if planning something in her head.

"What's wrong, Sonic?"

"...Are you absolutely sure, Tails?"

Tails eyed him confusedly before following the hedgehog's gaze before his own eyes widened. So this is what the sound was. Back where they had been earlier, you wouldn't have believed that a giant hole was in the ground.

It looked extremely deep; and very dark so you woudn't be able to see if you were down there. Rocks and dirt managed to hold up the walls of the whole, and dead roots and vines curled down the side from where the soil was.

"I saw we go down there." Blaze piped up, looking over her shoulder for confirmation or at least an acknowledgement for her idea from Sonic or Tails. They both looked at her in surprise.

"You want to go down there?"

"What if one of the Sol Emeralds is down there? That means we're one step closer to getting me home." Blaze said, looking down into the dark distance of the hole once more. "I'm going to go take a look. You two can stay here and keep watch if you want."

Walking back a few steps, she jumped off the surface they were standing on and started to free-fall towards the bottom of the darkness, igniting a fireball in her hand so she could see better. The flame served as a torch, and would also be helpful in defensive play if something decided to attack her.

"Blaze!" Sonic yelled after her lavender form, slamming his palm for his face. Sighing, he turned to face his friend, and said, "C'mon, Tails, we have to go after her."

Tails nodded, and then sniggered. "Someone has a crush..."

Sonic looked away in annoyance, and calmly denied it. "I do not, I'm just worried about her. Now, are you coming or not?" he asked, glad to be changing the subject. What Tails had said about him and Blaze had been true, his feelings for her may have been slightly moving past friendship or acquaintanceship. Sonic stepped forward and jumped in after Blaze, while Tails stepped off carefully, spinning his tails so he wasn't actually falling. He descended slower than the others though.

* * *

><p>Blaze straightened herself up as she landed, the balls of her feet touching the solid ground first as she bent her knees from the hard impact. The drop hadn't been that long, but long enough for her to get covered in dust. With an annoyed growl, she used her spare hand to dust herself off before turning around to see several tunnels. '<em>Which way should I go?' <em>she thought.

Another thump was heard, she assumed it was Sonic once again, like with what happened last night. So he had followed her. He was the one who had questioned her over actually coming down here, and now he was following her? She lifted her hand higher as she turned around, the glow of the orange flames reflected off her face. The light showed the blue figure, and her assumption was confirmed.

"I thought you were going to stay up there." she said, starting up the conversation while they continued to look at each other, Sonic unsure of what to say to begin the conversation at first, and was glad that she had said something so they could get talking.

"You can't just go into something like this by yourself, Blaze." Sonic said. "Tails will be down soon. He has the scanner, so let's just wait for him-"

"No," the feline answered, cutting him off sharply. "It would be better to get a head start, so that we can track down this Sol Emerald sooner."

Sonic gave her an annoyed look. "We'll wait for Tails." he replied, and followed Blaze as she began to walk through the tunnel that was closest to her. She lifted her hand even higher so she could see further into the tunnel, the light giving her a better look into what the tunnel looked like. She put her spare hand on the entrance wall, and her eyes wondered the rocky walls, drinking in the details of it.

There were loose rocks near the arched entrance, cobwebs dotted the rocks and it was oddly quiet.

"Blaze, hang on a minute!" he said, running in front to stop her with his speed. She raised an eyebrow in question to his protest.

"Yes?"

"Don't, we have to wait for Tails. He has the scanner, and we can find the Sol Emerald for you faster. We talked about this in the hospital," he explained. "You agreed that you would let us help you out with us, so don't change your mind now." He put his hands on her shoulders, and she was shocked, and so, the fireball dimmed itself a little bit so the light only reflected off their faces and shoulders. "Alright?"

He looked at her for clarification. She nodded slightly, not an obvious one, but one that he could see.

"Alright."

"Good."

* * *

><p><em>'Where did they go? I hope they're still around here somewhere and didn't go anywhere without me... I told Sonic he should have kept that cell phone that Chris gave him!' <em>Tails thought in annoyance. He was still travelling down the hole entrance, but his tails were getting tired so he would have to descend quicker to land safely unless he wanted to crash from quick impact. Tails wasn't very good with his landings, anyway.

He cupped his gloved hands over his mouth as he moved lower into the tunnel, grabbing a torch and lighting it.

"SONIC! BLAZE!" he shouted, trying to get their attention.

Suddenly, as he started getting closer to the ground, vibrations were heard, and the whole gave began to shake. Tails screamed, and wrapped his head in his hands in order to protect himself. He landed on the ground, and hid behind a large boulder which was near the tunnels, and he heard his name being called.

"TAILS!"

* * *

><p>As Sonic and Blaze continued to discuss the situation, they didn't realize that they were slowly travelling further into the tunnel that Blaze had led them into.<p>

"SONIC! BLAZE!"

At the call of their names, the duo turned around in shock. Soon, the whole gave was shaking. Sonic shouted Tails name, as it had been his voice who called their names, and grabbed Blaze's hand and ran back towards the entrance. Rocks were standing to fall and crash into the ground, some cracking in two and missing the hedgehog and cat by mere inches.

Sonic let go of her hand and ran forward to beat the rocks forward, but he wasn't quick enough. Large boulders had already collapsed in front of the arch, and more still coming down.

"Sonic, look out!"

He looked up, and more rocks were tumbling down, and landed on top of him, buring him within the hard surface. Blaze's eyes widened in horror. She ran forward, and used the only hand she could to attempt to dig through the rubble. It was no use, she couldn't see him.

"Sonic!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay, a cliffy! Do you know how long I've been dying to do a cliff-hanger for? I didn't know how this chapter would turn out, so I was a bit reluctant to go with this idea, but I think it turned out pretty good, except for it sounding so rushed towards the end.**

**I bet my goal today as well! I finished it in one day, and I bet my word limit, which is good. ^_^**

**Word Count: 2096**

**~CL**


	10. Chapter 9: An Aura Direction

**Chapter 9: An Aura Direction**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

_**_**_****ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,****Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ****,****ø¤º°°º¤ø****,,****ø****_**_**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sonic franchise.**

* * *

><p>"Sonic! Are you alright?" yelled Blaze as she tried to move rocks away from the place they had crashed down onto the cracking ground of the cave. She had the most panicked face on her, that anyone who had previously known her would have not believed their eyes, because the feline usually had a neutral expression on all the time.<p>

She grunted as she lifted another rock and tossed it aside, almost wincing as its hard surface hit the ground. She continued to dig through them, but couldn't see the blue hedgehog anywhere.

"Where are you?" Blaze called worriedly, finally letting up as she backed away from the pile of rocks that were currently blocking the entrance from anyone getting in or out. What was she supposed to do? Sonic was unconcious and injured somewhere under a large pile of rocks, and she was trapped inside a dark cave. Lighting a fireball in her hands to give her enough light, she ignited her other hand and pressed her palm to a large boulder. The gray rock soon began burning, surrounded by a vibrant orange as it slowly burnt away.

Blaze was getting frustrated because her powers weren't doing anything either. She let out an annoyed groan, and stopped, leaning back against the wall, and placed her head in her hands as she slid into a sitting position, her knees right near her head. She didn't weep, but merely breathed heavily as she tried to think of something to help out Sonic.

"What do I do?"

* * *

><p>Tails had his arms above his head with his eyes clenched shut. The young kitsune was still trembling in fright, afraid to open his eyes in order to know if he was alive or dead. Slowly, he opened them anyway, and gasped, standing so he could see over the boulder he had hid behind earlier.<p>

A small but damaging rock-slide had just occured, and he had just cowered in order to keep himself safe? He really was a scaredy-cat...

Tails sighed gloomily and moving out from his hiding place. He reached into the bag he had clipped around his waist for his torch(1), and flipped the switch on so that a light shone forward. He directed the torch to the direction further into the tunnel, and began to travel forward, climbing over the necessary places and moving around the others.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, and ignored the voices in his head that told him to go back, to try and find a way out, but he continued on stubbornly. "I have to find Sonic and Blaze!" he exclaimed firmly.

* * *

><p><em>'Where... Where are I now? A-am I okay?' <em>Sonic asked himself as he opened up his eyes. His sight was pitch-black, he could hardly see anything other than a bit of orange shining through something that looked like cracks. He pressed his palm to the surface trapping him, and ran his hand over it. _'Rocks...? Oh, the rock slide!'_

"B... B-Blaze!" he wheezed, coughing as dust blocked the free air he had previously been breathing in.

A shift was heard from the other side of the rock, and the orange got brighter.

"Sonic?" called Blaze's voice. He had never heard her this worried. Was she alright. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"H-Here!" he managed to shout back through another cough. Managing to look through one of the cracks through the rocks, and he watched as Blaze's face hardened in detirmination, as she lifted her left leg and began to spin, a small tornado of orange flames following her motions. He heard her let out an aggravated sound before her foot came contact with the boulders.

The contact of her foot to the rocky surface made them crumble, beginning to fall away from the blue hedgehog. All the dust from the incident filled his air supply as a large crash was heard to signify that he was free. A little more digging from the feline, he soon saw her relieved face.

"You're okay!" she exclaimed excitedly, pulling him away from the rocks. He smiled weakly at her before softly smiling. He coughed again, and Blaze helped him stand up by putting his arm across her shoulder and letting him lean part his weight on top of her, and let her other hand keep a fireball in her palm for light.

"Thanks." he replied in grattitude.

* * *

><p>Tails was still running, trying to find his friends. He hadn't found anything yet, but had confronted a few bats when he had rushed past a certain part of the tunnel earlier. Who knew it would be this hard to find a hedgehog and a cat?<p>

He continued to wonder aimlessly, deciding not to think strategically on this one, because all of his previous plans on this mission seemed to fail, so he was just going to wing it. What was he going to do anyway? What strategy could you think off while walking through dark tunnels under the surface of the living.

"I will find them... I will find them..." he continued to say, repeating these four words like a mantra in detirmination. This time, he would be the one to save his best friend, because it was something Sonic always did; he risked his life to save others. So now, Tails wanted to be a hero like Sonic, his role-model, his older-brother-figure, his best friend.

* * *

><p>Rouge hadn't stopped to think where she was headed, she just continued to fly until she found a suitable place to rest for the night, and then take off first thing in the morning. She had been repeating this cycle for the last few days, after she left the town where the others were residing. She wouldn't admit it, even denying it in her own head, that was really freaked out by the tear in the sky. The inter-dimensional tear, as she had been told it was called when Cream had informed her the last time something this happened(1), was getting worse by the day, and she wouldn't be here when a giant explosion decided to cause a giant earthquake or something.<p>

She quickly glanced back at the way she came, her thoughts drifting to Knuckles. That was anothing thing that she didn't want to leave behind; Knuckles the Echidna, the one who would save her butt with Sonic when she needed them. Should she go back to help? She knew that they would go back to help her if she was the one in danger, but was she really willing to risk her life, not to mention her ever-important _reputation?_

Her hand travelled down to the bag which was still dangling from her shoulder, her hand slipping inside to check if the jewel was still there. Sighing in relief, she quickly strapped the bag up again before sharply turning around to go back to the city. "I'll help out this once, but they'll have to owe me later."

* * *

><p>"Do you know where we're going?" Sonic asked as he hobbled along with Blaze. He felt so helpless because instead of him helping her, Blaze was helping him out all because he didn't move out of the way in time. He glanced at the feline, who had a very detirmined look on her face, as they continued to walk through the gave. His elbow accidently dug into her shoulder as he moved, and Blaze momentarily grimaced.<p>

"As the guardian of the Sol Emeralds, I can sense their power from miles away, so I can detirmine whether they're close or not. I'm sensing a power building up as we move along, so I assume one is this way. I can feel an aura pulsing." She explained, glancing over at him. He was already looking at her, and he quickly looked away with a slight blush on his face. His heart began to beat wildly, and he mentally cursed himself.

"Uh, so are you sure this is the right way?"

"Yes," she replied, nodding in confirmation. He was acting a little weird at the moment, compared to his normal self around her. Her ears pricked at the sound of something beating, perhaps a heart, but she shrugged it off, and focused on trying to find the Sol Emeralds. She paused momentarily as the tunnel seperated four ways. Blaze closed her eyes to concentrate, before opening them again and motioning the blue hedgehog. "That way." Blaze said, beginning to walk towards the third tunnel.

"Let's hope you're not getting us lost, Blaze." Sonic teased. Blaze glared at him before rolling her eyes.

"Shut up, Sonic, before I burn your behind."

"Rght, shutting up now."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Oh, hey, readers! Sorry for taking ages with this update, I've been slowly putting this together, but it's taken so long because I had no idea what to write. Now that I'm sort of back on track with a storyine, hopefully I will update quicker. :) So, leave a review and let me know what you think. :D**

**(1) Sonic Rush - if you haven't played the game, then you may get confused with some of the stuff later on, but it's not efficient. **

**Word Count: 1,522**

**~CL**


	11. Chapter 10: The Guardian Senses

**Chapter 10: The Guardian Senses**

_**by Cerulean Leader**_

_**_**_**_**ø,,ø¤º°°º¤ø,**__**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**__**,**__**ø¤º°°º¤ø**__**,,**__**ø**_**_**_**_

********Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. :) ********

********NOTE: Read the A/Ns at the bottom.********

* * *

><p>"Maybe I should try to find my way out of here and then wait for them to get back to the X-Tornado…" Tails said as he paused for a moment. He was still holding the scanner which had held onto through the rocks falling down to the entrance of the tunnel so it wouldn't get damaged at all. He glanced down at the screen, where a green dot was pulsing with a ripple of circles around it. The green dot was supposed to represent the scanner itself in a particular location, along with a birds-eye view map of the place where it currently was.<p>

"Or maybe I should just try and find the Sol Emerald and wait for them to find it. Blaze has the ability to sense the power of the Sol Emeralds because she is the guardian of them, right? If that's true, then that means I should be able to meet up with them in no time!" he exclaimed, continuing his trek through the deep cave.

The sensors were beeping slightly louder now as the honey-coloured fox stared down at the screen as he walked in the direction of the source of power. He moved his eyes forward a bit so they could inspect his surroundings, and he stopped walking when he noticed he had walked into a dead-end.

Looking up to glance at the wall, he sighed and looked down at his shoes. "Maybe I should have come up a plan." He said miserably.

* * *

><p>"I can sense it. It's really close!" Blaze cheered uncharacteristically, setting Sonic down on a rock. He followed her form with his eyes as she pressed a hand to the wall. They were currently at the end of a tunnel and no matter how many times Sonic protested that it was just a dead end, the cat insisted that it was indeed down this way.<p>

"C'mon, Blaze, there might be another tunnel where it will be. It's clearly a solid wall, and it's not going to be around. Let's go and find another way in." he sighed, causing the cat to glare at him. She rolled her eyes and pressed her ear to the cold stone, sliding her hand along the wall.

"This is it, I'm sure of it." she whispered quietly. She took a few paces back, and ignited two fireballs in her hand. "Watch closely, hedgehog. This is how it's done." With that, she began to change forward quickly, the flames in her palms growing so that they covered her whole body. Sonic sat up straighter in anticipation, watching Blaze carefully.

She let out a battle cry, and jumped in the air, leaning back slightly as she raised her right leg at the same time so that the bottom of her shoe collided with the thick stone, immediately causing it to collapse onto the ground. It had also left a large hole where an eerie glow of yellow could be seen. Could it really be?

She rushed forward, picking up the source of glow in her hands and lifted it above her head in triumph. "Finally, a Sol Emerald." She whispered, bringing her hands closer to her with the jewel along with them. "That means I'm one step closer to going home." With that said, she turned to face Sonic whose face had deepened into a frown.

When he heard her say that she was close to going home, he couldn't help but feel annoyed and betrayed, slightly. It wasn't like he hadn't liked her at all during their past encounters; there had been times when he had noticed and acknowledged his feelings, though he refused to admit them out loud because he thought it was just a phase, but ever since she had been brought to his dimension and timeline once more, well, let's just say that those feelings had rekindled and deepened.

"Are you alright?"

"Just fine." He snapped. Honestly, the blue hedgehog just couldn't help answering back like that. How else was he supposed to react? He should have known better than too think that she would only want the Sol Emeralds and stop at that. He had forgotten the _other _reasons why she wanted them back in her possession. He stood up on his good leg and began to hobble away.

Blaze stood there in confusion while she stared blankly at him, before slowly walking to catch up and help him walk since he was still struggling.

* * *

><p>Silver still didn't understand what had happened. It had been days since Blaze had been sucked into the portal thing, and no one still had any clue how to re-access it or where she was. He was still standing in the Sol Emerald chamber, a gloved hand stroking his chin as he analysed all the information which had resulted so far, trying to find something they were missing. "Where could she be?"<p>

He sighed in frustration and let his hands hang by his side while his eyes slowly began to close. Since being brought up in a similar way to Blaze, though his had allowed him a _lot _more freedom, he had learnt to have great control, though they pretty much had a mind of their own when he felt extreme emotion, like now, because he was worrying so much over his best frend and (practically) sister. His eye-lids opened, glowing an aqua blue as a shield and two swords that were hanging on the ancient bricks began to do the same. Silver lifted his arms up into the air before stepping forward and swinging his arms strongly towards the wall where Blaze had disappeared through.

The wall almost disappeared like fabric, seeming to rip by contact. But for days all the best scientists around the kingdom and architects had tried their best to figure out to get through. They had all thoroughly examined the wall, pressing their ears and hands against it to find a week point, and all it took to open it was Silver to aim a couple of weapons at the wall? Maybe it was because they had been touched by Blaze's ancestors in the past.

The familiar complicated swirls of purple, orange and yellow filled his vision, but no strong gusts of wind were there like they had been when they sucked his feline friend through the vortex.

"Captain Wentworth!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>"Tails, can you hear me?"<em>**

The kitsune jumped in surprise, before pulling out a walkie-talkie from who-knows-where. "Uh, please?" he asked hesitantly into the speaker of the small, blue and red machine. He heard a bit of static on the other side of the line. "Stop moving around, we're already too low below the surface, and if you keep moving, the connection between the walkie-talkies will cut off so we won't be able to communicate."

**_"Sorry, Tails. I'm just putting Sonic down on a rock so I can talk to you properly."_**

"Sonic's okay? Great!" the honey-coloured fox said excitedly.

**_"Yeah he's fine. He was crushed under some rocks during the rock slide so he's unable to use one of his legs and is incapable of moving on his own, but other than that, he's okay. He was lacking a bit of oxygen earlier, but now he's able to breathe properly." _**the feline answered quickly. He could hear an annoyed grunt in the background, obviously Sonic scoffing.

_**"I'm not incapable of moving by myself! I can move just fine!"**_

"A bit snappy there Sonic? Don't worry, once we get out of here, you'll be patched up and you'll be running in no time!"

_**"Where are you anyway?"**_his best friend asked. His voice was now less distant, meaning Blaze had given him the walkie-talkie so he could speak to talks properly instead of yelling across the cavern like he had been earlier when he had retaliated Blaze's comment about his injuries.

"Uh, I have no idea actually."

**_"We might be able to find you now that we've found the Sol Emerald."_**came Blaze's voice once more. _**"Since I'm the guardian of them, my powers are connected to them, like how Sonic is to the Chaos Emerald and Knuckles to the Master Emerald. My flames get stronger when the Sol Emeralds are in my possession, but since I only have one with me at the moment, they have only been heightened slightly, but it should be enough to find you."**_

"Great!"

* * *

><p>It had been a few hours since the three had finally made it back to the surface, which they had done by using Blaze's newly adapted skill of levitation(1), where the X-Tornado was and flown back to the Thorndyke mansion where Ella was currently wrapping a bandage around Sonic's right knee. She had been extremely worried about them, giving Tails and Sonic a bone-crushing hug when they had returned while Blaze leaned back against the wall with her arms folded and eyes shut, going over the mission in her head.<p>

"So, uh, Blaze?" Chris began when he walked up to her. He had a hand placed behind his head - a nervous habit which he had picked up from Sonic and his grandfather. She opened her eyes and merely glanced at him with an emotionless stare. Her gaze scared him slightly and sent shivers down his spine. "I hear that you're from another dimension."

She wasn't surprised at his conversation starter. He was obviously curious. "Not another dimension, entirely. My dimension has many traits this one has. I'm still from Mobius - the place where Sonic and the others are from. But I'm also from another time-frame, so technically, I'm roughly 200 years behind my time even though this one is happening at the same time."

"Whoa," was his reaction. "What about the symbol on your cloak?" he said, pointing to the circular print of gold and red, a fancy 's' in the middle surrounded by small blames which matched the bottom of the cloak, even though the flames there were of orange, red and yellow, along with the Sol Emeralds stitched into the fabric so they were around the symbol. "What does that mean?"

She shifted comfortably. "I'm ruler of the kingdom of Soleanna. I'm the lone survivor of the royal family when they were killed in a massacre when I was just a baby. I'm a princess... or queen, if you will. I'm also the guardian of the Sol Emeralds, like I keep mentioning."

"Awesome! I'm looking forward to helping you find the rest of the them, your Highness."

"Blaze is fine."

"Alright!"

Since being brought up in a similar way to Blaze, though his had allowed him a _lot _more freedom

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello, everyone. I know you're all pretty much annoyed at me for taking ages to update this story, but that's because I've been running out of ideas for it. I was sort of basing it on both the Sonic games that focus on Blaze, as well as making each chapter a little similar to a Sonic X episode, but I felt like I was dragging out the whole 'underground-emerald' thing, so I decided to end it with this chapter so I could go on to the next stage and began with the next emerald.**

**I need to count how many I've mentioned first...**

**(1) Okay, apparently, Blaze has the ability to levitate. I thought this was only when she was in Burning Blaze mode, but according to the Sonic wikia, it's just one of her general abilities so I added that in. Remember, it's been a few years since Sonic Rush/Adventure, so I made it that she's devoloped this skill over time. She's also gotten faster, and is more advanced in her hand-to-hand combat and her kyrokinisis. :)**

**Word Count: 1,809**

**Please don't forget to review!**

**~CL**


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